HMS AJAX IN THE SOUTH AMERICAN SQUADRON, 1938-1940, AND HMS NORFOLK IN NORTHERN WATERS, 1940-1943

Synopsis

(Reel 2) Goodwill voyage round South America, stopping in Rio de Janeiro, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Chile, through Panama Canal to Curaao, Trinidad and the aftermath of the Battle of the River Plate: Admiral Graf Spee on fire, newsreel interview with Captain Woodhouse in Rio and battle honour plate.

(Reel 2) Goodwill voyage round South America, stopping in Rio de Janeiro, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Chile, through Panama Canal to Curaao, Trinidad and the aftermath of the Battle of the River Plate: Admiral Graf Spee on fire, newsreel interview with Captain Woodhouse in Rio and battle honour plate.

(Reel 3) Offcuts from Reels 1 and 2.

(Reel 4) Boarding party boards German freighter Olinda on 3 September 1939 before German freighter scuttles herself. Rest of reel shot by Lieutenant-Commander Tod while serving on HMS Norfolk (1940-1943) on Northern Convoys records shore of Iceland and frozen seas.

Amateur film shot by Lieutenant Norman Tod while serving as navigating officer on HMS Ajax from 1938 to 1940, and then on HMS Norfolk from 1940 to 1943, covers both the pre-war social life of a naval officer and several significant wartime actions.

Production Credits

Countries

The Colonial Film website is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and features films from the British Film Institute, the Imperial War Museum, and the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum.